A Reason to Live
by Drachegirl14
Summary: As Rikku reflects on the final battle a few days before it all goes down, she realizes she doesn't have a reason to live or fight anymore. She finds it in the most unlikely person. AURIKKU oneshot


Drache: Hello and welcome to my first Aurikku one-shot! I've gotten into this pairing quite a bit and decided to try to write something for it. So here we go. One more thing. Flamers? I've got a flame-thrower your flames will fuel. Do not mess with the almighty Flame-thrower of Doom! (It is rated T for teen, I swear). Please note that this isn't a lemon, but it will have lemony undertones.

**Summary: As Rikku reflects on the final battle a few days before hand, she finds comfort and a reason to fight and live in the most unlikely source.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FFX or anything of that sort.**

It was coming.

Rikku absently wiped the tears from her eyes, although that did no good, because she was still crying.

She stared out across the sea. Wakka had wanted to come back and see everyone on Besaid before leaving to fight the final battle. The others had gone with him and now only she was left, sitting on the edge of a cliff and starring out across the ocean. It was as black, reflecting the starry night sky above, and Rikku wasn't surprised something that vast and beautiful hid something so deadly and powerful. For Yevon's sake, look at Yuna!

But it was beautiful. And the soft sounds of the waves lapping up on the rocks below eased her anxiety and helped her to release the bottled tension and fear she held within.

There was a party going on below. She could see a fire in the middle of the village, and people that looked like ants as they moved. The occasional strains of music floated up to her, and she found more tears flowing down her face.

She placed her face in her hands and curled her knees up near her chest and really cried.

This was it.

This was the final day she knew she'd see anyone. She knew they could take care of themselves, but what about her? What about her?

What about her?

She knew more often than not she annoyed the party, and she knew she wasn't strong (she never killed any monsters on her own as the others did). She couldn't cast spells like Lulu or summon like Yuna or do swordplay or play blitzball or use a spear or anything! All she did was steal and throw stuff to do damage. She customized weapons, sure, but what did that do? They didn't even use the stuff she customized.

And now . . .

Rikku hated herself. She loved her friends, was grateful that even Wakka accepted her, despite his hatred for the Al Bhed. Even Auron accepted her, and that meant the most to Rikku.

From the moment she'd laid her emerald eyes onto him at the banks of the Moonflow, she'd had a bit of a crush . . . okay an obsession with the crimson swordsmaster. She loved to stand back and watch him fight. When he fought, it was like watching a dance. He was graceful, strong, and his voice . . .

His voice always sent shivers down the sixteen-year-old's spine. It was low and sexy. That voice had always led her to completion, in her dreams at least.

Lately, though, her dreams had changed. She'd be by herself, and then suddenly kissing Auron, then the two would make love, then he'd be gone, and she'd look down and find herself standing above her friend's bodies. They all had some look of defiance on them, so even in death, they fought.

Normally, she'd wake up at this point, but last night . . . last night . . .

A voice, HIS voice had told her if she hadn't been so weak, so naïve, she'd have saved her friends. They wouldn't be dead. They blamed her for their deaths.

She'd awoken covered in a heavy sweat while Yuna and Lulu slept on peacefully. It was hard, but she'd managed to go back to sleep, and her dreams still haunted her.

_Do I even have a reason to live or fight? Brother, father, and mother can take care of themselves, and my friends would be alright without me . . . So no, I don't . . . _

She decided then. They didn't need her. They'd be better off without her.

She stood and turned, heading away from the village, deep into the forest. That's where she found what she was looking for.

A large bird fiend, not as big as the Zu, but still big, ambushed her, and Rikku didn't even try to fight back. The bird slashed at her, and Rikku dodged, waiting and waiting for her to be backed off the cliff. She'd fall to her death.

That was the plan anyway.

Or it would've been, if he hadn't come out of nowhere and destroyed the Garuda.

"Rikku." His voice was emotionless, as usual.

Rikku screamed and dropped to her knees, sobbing. "You idiot! I wanted that bird to kill me! Why do you think I wasn't fighting?"

She heard his boots come closer and his voice grow colder. "You attempted suicide?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

She stood and glared, which wasn't as effective because she was still crying. "Why do you think?"

" . . ."

Rikku began to laugh maniacally. "You really don't know do you?"

She stopped laughing as sudden as she started. She slumped to the ground and stared out across the vast sea once again. "I'm tired Auron. I'm tired of fighting, tired of being weak, tired of living, tired of Sin. I need release."

"Death is not the answer."

She stood and faced him. "It isn't? Then what is? Why should I keep on living?"

"Yuna."

Rikku's eyes softened before they hardened again. She took angry steps until she was less then two feet from Auron. His deep chestnut eyes bored into her own pools of emerald, and she just barely managed to suppress the primal passion and desire that welled up inside her. "Yunie is strong Auron. Yunie is useful, Yunie has a lover in her life and she will not mourn me for long."

His voice was cold anger. "Is that what you think?"

"I do not say things I don't mean. Tell me Auron." Her eyes stared straight into his. "Give me a reason to live."

He seemed to stare at her before turning away. "You're a coward."

"Great. Let's add another thing to my list. I'm not strong, I'm not useful, I'm not pretty, and now I'm a coward." Rikku's eyes turned downwards. She didn't notice he'd unbuckled the part of his outfit that hid his face.

She turned away, tears beginning to flow once again. "Thank you for telling me that. Now let me rest in peace."

She was about to jump when suddenly, his hand grabbed her arm. He spun her around and his lips crashed onto hers.

She immediately went limp in his arms, her own arms wrapping around his neck as she kissed him with a desperate passion not even she knew she possessed. Their kisses were hungry, about taking as much as possible. That tiny spark caught and grew as the kiss turned deeper, but still passionate.

She felt it now. That coil in her stomach was beginning to twist a bit tighter, and she was acutely aware of her body pressed tightly against his. A bit of wetness began to pool in her lower body, making her outer folds emanate a heat that her dreams couldn't even begin to replicate. She shifted slightly, attempting to relive the pressure, and Auron was suddenly trailing kisses down her neck, suckling at the soft skin where her shoulder met her neck.

His scent filled her nose and she let out a tiny moan as it filled her nose. His scent was so rich; spices, sake, and something she couldn't identify, but it made her hotter than hell. He nipped suddenly, causing her to inhale sharply.

Her eyes closed and she attempted to control herself.

. . . . . . Who was she kidding?

He couldn't control himself. Seeing her standing there, beginning him for a reason to live, it had taken all his strength to not tell her to live for him. Instead, he'd mentioned her cousin, and was furious to hear her words. Did she think Yuna didn't care? That none of them cared?

And then he had turned and saw that she was about to jump off the cliff, and plunge into the ocean, about two thousand feet down. Something in him had snapped, and the tiny spark he'd carried for her had grown into a roaring fire (Yes, he could admit it, to himself anyway. He was lusting after a sixteen-year-old.) He'd caught her and pulled her to him. And then kissed her.

Her lips were soft and he was hungry for more, and apparently so was she. She kissed him as hungrily as he had kissed her, and then he felt it. He could feel her heat emanating from her core even through her shorts and his pants and crimson obi, and it made a problem for him, because his body reacted in the same way it had been for the past few weeks. He then grinned internally when he felt her shift, and unintentionally brush in just the right way. He slipped his lips down her neck, tasting the sweet skin and suddenly, he couldn't take it.

Auron pulled away and gazed at Rikku through lust glazed eyes. "Rikku. Live and fight . . . . . for me."

Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a tiny 'O' before he was kissing her again. Their passion carried them far into the early hours of the morning.

((On the ship))

Rikku smiled at Yuna. "Hi Yuna."

Yuna hugged Rikku, before pulling away and looking her up and down. "What happened to you?"

Rikku looked a bit disheveled, and her cheeks were a rosy red. Her eyes darted to Auron before she said casually, "I was ambushed by a few fiends when I was looking for treasure, but Auron helped me out."

Rikku stared her cousin in the eye. _Come on Yunie . . . _

Yuna locked eyes with her cousin, and after a few moments, her own eyes widened and she gasped. "Rikku!"

Rikku smiled and nodded ever so slightly. Yuna hugged her cousin tighter.

"Did I miss something?" Tidus asked scratching his head.

"You and me both brother." Wakka said.

Lulu smiled slightly as she glanced at the two lovers. Although they stood far apart from each other, Rikku and Auron still stole glances and Rikku would blush and Auron would smirk. There was only reason and Lulu knew why.

When she had gone to search for Auron and Rikku after they both had disappeared, she'd found the two in the middle of a moment of passion, and if she hadn't known what they were doing, then Rikku's sudden cry of "Auron!" would've told her.

Lulu slipped an arm around Rikku's shoulders and smiled down at the young girl. Rikku smiled back up at her.

Kimahri stood silently watching, before casting a glance over to the silent swordsman. "You not hurt Rikku. Kimahri be very angry and hurt Auron if he hurt Rikku."

Auron nodded and said quietly back. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

Rikku waited until everyone, including her lover, was gone, and she smiled happily, before turning her gaze to the sun and the sky.

She had found her reason to live and to continue fighting. And she wouldn't give it up for anything.

**So there it is. Some lovely Aurikku for us all . . . If any of you have a good Aurikku story for me, please tell me it! Also, do not forget to review!**


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